A former prisoner governor has said he 'fell into' the job after coming back home from England.
Niall Spelman, who until recently served as Second Governor of Wheatfield Prison, was speaking as part of the Ask Me Anything series on Lunchtime Live, which sees people come into studio and answer your questions every Friday.
He said the job can be tough but it has more positives than people think.
"It an be [tough] at times but 95% of it is repetition, mundane routine," he said.
"The effective way to manage prisons and prisoners is to have routine.
"Any deviation from the routine generally is a recipe for trouble.
"Prisoners like routine because for many of them it is the only time they've ever had structure in their lives."
Smuggling
One listener asked what was the strangest object ever smuggled into the prison.
"It's primarily phones and drugs that are smuggled in; it's more so how they're smuggled in," he said.
"Let's just say that the capacity of the human rectum to accommodate objects that were not designed for it is quite startling.
"Secreted Kinder eggs full of drugs... with the little toy taken out and the chocolate eaten off and filled with drugs.
"Inserted perhaps more than one".
Mr Spelman said prisoners can insert phones "into the their body cavities" to prevent them being retrieved by staff.
Social media
Another listener asked if social media has a big effect in promoting violence inside prisons.
"It can do but what is happening in society that is reflected on social media, the prisoners already know about it," Mr Spelman said.
"It's primarily gang wars, turf wars, that sort of thing.
"That is always an issue in the prisons anyway - especially if gang affiliations change or if someone is accused of being a rat.
"Does it have an impact? Yes it does but the impact is probably felt in the prison before it appears on social media".
Lunchtime Live host Andrea Gilligan and Niall Spelman, 10-5-24. Image: NewstalkAnother listener asked if they are ever nervous when they hear a certain prisoner is coming to the prison.
"Not nervous but some have a propensity for violence, some can be very, very disruptive without being violent," he said.
"Some can agitate other prisoners.
"You're not nervous but you can think, 'So-and-so is back - we're going to have a lot of issues around slashings or contraband coming in' or there could be tension from a previous sentence".
Mr Spelman said certain prisons will only take certain gang members from certain gangs.
"It is centrally managed from Longford; at the end of the day any prisoner who is transferred is a ministerial order," he explained.
'Some staff are susceptible'
Another listener asked if there were safety issues for prison officers when they are not working.
"When I lived in Dublin, for example, I never put out my blue shirts on the line because I didn't want anyone to know what I worked at," Mr Spelman said.
"Staff do get targeted, unfortunately some succumb - there have been a number of prison officers imprisoned over the years for smuggling contraband, primarily drugs,
"Some staff are more susceptible from where they socialise or where they live but the good strong ones will stand up to it and report it," he added.
